Feb 05 2009
Krakow, Poland Day Trip: Wieliczka Salt Mines
Just outside of Krakow are the popular Wieliczka Salt Mines, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The underground labyrinth is an impressive collection of tunnels, pits, and chambers with sculptures, chandeliers, walls, and floors all made from rock salt.
Built in the 13th century, it is one of the world’s oldest operating salt mines and was in continuous operation until 2007. Now, the extensive underground city 327 meters underground offers a wide variety of impressive sites including detailed salt sculptures, chapels, an underground lade, restaurant, a rehabilitation and treatment center, and a large banquet hall used for concerts, weddings, and other special events.
Tourists visiting the salt mine only visit approximately 1% of the mine, a 3 kilometer “tourist route” that involves a 380-step descent to approximately 101 meters under the ground. (A short elevator ride returns visitors to the surface.)
The mine is open daily with guided tours in various languages offered throughout the day. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes for the walk, but the pleasant 14° Celsius temperature doesn’t require any extra layers. A tour lasts about two hours and costs about $7.
Krakow has several tour companies that offer tours to the Salt Mines, such as Cracow City Tours. A four hour tour is offered daily for 100 PLN (approximately $33) and includes the bus transportation, entrance to the Salt Mines, and a guided tour.
Past visitors to the mines include Nicolaus Copernicus, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Pope John Paul II (although he wasn’t the Pope at the time), and Bill Clinton.
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Photos by Jennifer L. Price, www.jenniferlprice.com
Very interesting. I need to ask my daughter if this is where she went. I don’t remember exactly, but on a school trip YEARS ago I have a memory of something like this.
Seems an odd place for a wedding, underground…wouldn’t be for me.
Swing by for a visit,
Sandy